Butter-lifter



(No Model.) W. S. BAILEY & W. M. STEVENSON.

BUTTER LIFTER. No. 447,286.

Patented Mar. 3, 1891.

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' UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIC \VELFORD S. BAILEY AND \VILLIAM M. STEVENSON, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

BUTTER-LIFTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters-Patent No. 447,286, dated March 3, 1891.

Application filed February 12, 1890. Serial No. 340,124. (No model.)

T0 at whom it'may concern.-

Be it known that we, W-ELEOED S. BAILEY and WILLIAM M. STEVENSON, citizens of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Ouyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Butter-Lifters; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Our invention relates to butter-lifters; and the object of the invention is to produce a butter-lifter so constructed and arranged that it can be advantageouslyemployed in domestic use or in the retail trade for removing butter from tubs, pails, or other vessels in quantities to suit purchasers and in parcels that are shapely and attractive.

It is Well known that heretofore packed butter for retail or like purposes has generally been removed by means of a suitable wooden paddle or other similar instrument, which was thrust into the butter, and such quantity detached as was wanted or as happened to become available in the efiort, the quantity and condition of the lump depending much on the size of the vessel, the hardness of the butter, the dexterity of the person, and other like conditions of a widelyvarying nature. If a purchaser wanted a pound or other quantity of butter, it invariably was more or less broken up in removal to get the desired weight, a condition which almost invariably displeased the purchaser, and the seller as Well, but could not then be betterecl. Like dissatisfaction was experienced when it came to the use of the butter on the table.

Our invention is designed to overcome this objection and to furnish both the housewife and the merchant with a medium whereby butter can be removed from a tub or jar in exactly the quantity desired and in a form that is symmetrical, compact, and attractive.

To this end the invention consists in a butter-lifter consisting of a bowl-shaped body provided with vanes and a follower or pis ton, all substantially as shown and described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective View of our improved device,

partly exposing the bottom, with the follower partly raised. Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof, partly broken away at one side; and Fig. 3 is a bottom view.

A represents the bowl or cup of the lifter. This cup has the shape clearly seen in the drawings, and its size will depend on the quantity of butter to be measured. Hence a besides providing the purchaser with a neat parcel the task of handling by the grocer is I considerably reduced and simplified, working -a material saving of time and labor. fcupis provided with a neck a and a c'rosshandle a at thetop' of the neck, which serves I to handle and turn the cup, as hereinafter 'more fully described. On the inside of the This cup are vanes of, the relative depth of which as compared with the cup is about as shown, say half an inch to a diameter of four inches or thereabout. The cup preferably is made of sheet-tin, and the vanes are formed in any way that good workmanship or convenience may dictate. As seen, they extend from the lower edge of the cup to the dome a and in this instance are four in number. In smaller cups three vanes might answer the purpose.

B is the piston or follower, made, preferably, of wood, and adapted to fit somewhat closely about the side of the cup and to move up and down therein, as the work requires. At its sides the piston has vertical slots 1), adapted to the vanes a on the sides of the cup, so that the piston can only work up and down and not rotate. The bottom of the piston is in this instance made slightly concave, so as to give a convex surface to the butter, and usually has some attractive design or figure-work,-which leaves a pretty impress on the butter. A monogram or the like is frequently preferred in private use, while in retail stores the firm-name may be employed. Of course the designs or characters may be made to suit purchasers of the lifter. The stem 0 of the piston extends up through the vent g, which extends from the top of the cup outside to the bottom,and is designed to let in air beneath the butter that is detached to facilitate the operation. In this passage is a free rod 72, with heads that limit its move ment in either direction. Normally this rod will drop by gravity when the cup is raised; but when the head 2' strikes the butter it will be pushed up and close the passage from be low. Then when the cup is raised air will be drawn by suction into said passage and afford an air-supply beneath the parcel cut off by the cup. It will be understood that there is freedom enough between the stem 1) and the neck to give freevent to the space above the piston in the cup.

In operation the cup is forced down into the butter, so as to completely fill the cup and make a solid compact parcel having the conformation of the cup and the bottom of the piston. This done, the lift is given a horizontal turn, the arms a being employed for this purpose. In this movement the vanes a serve to prevent the butter in the cup from turning, and thus the parcel becomes severed from the body at its base or bottom. Then it is only necessary to lift the device with its contents bodily out, the air vent or passage g introducing air to the point of separation and enabling the cut-off to be easily and evenly made.

It will be understood that, while this invention'is described as being especially suited for lifting butter, it may also be used for lifting ice-cream and other articles to which this construction is adapted, such as lard and kindred substances having proper consistency and firmness to be handled in this way.

Having thus described our invention, What we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The circular cup having vanes at intervals on its inside and a piston provided with slots corresponding to said vanes, substantially as described.

2. A cup -shaped lifter having a neck a fixed to the cup and lateral arms a. at the top of the neck,in combination with a piston having a stem extending through said neck and arms and vertical vanes 011 the inside of the cup, substantially as described.

3. In a butter-lifter, the cup provided with an air-duct having an opening at the bottom of the cup and a rod with a head to close said opening at the bottom, substantially as described.

4. In a butter-lifter, a cup having parallel vanes on its inside and a neck with a handle, in combination with a piston adapted to said cup and vanes and having a stem extending through said neck, substantially as described.

Vitness our hands to the foregoing specification this 6th day of February, 1890.

WELFORD S. BAILEY. WILLIAM M. STEVENSON. W'itnesses:

J. M. FRY, E. A. WRIGHT. 

